Egypt's supreme court has upheld a decision to strip citizenship from Egyptian men who wed Israeli women if the marriage poses a threat to national security.

With ties between the two countries strained, particularly over the situation in the Gaza Strip, Saturday's verdict is being seen as a reflection of Egyptian sentiment towards Israel.

Mohammed al-Husseini, a judge with the supreme administrative court, said Egypt's interior ministry must ask the country's cabinet to take the necessary steps to strip Egyptian men married to Israeli women, and their children, of citizenship.

"The court asks the ministry of interior to present all the marriages to the cabinet to examine ... Each case should be investigated separately and with consideration to personal freedoms and the nation's security," he said.

Nabil al-Wahsh, a lawyer in the case, said he wanted to prevent the creation of a generation who are "disloyal to Egypt and the Arab world".

The children of such marriages "should not be allowed to perform their military service", he said.

No chance of appeal

The supreme administrative court's decision cannot be challenged.

Last year, a lower court ruled that the interior ministry needed to look into the cases of Egyptian men married to Israeli women, and their children, in order to "take the necessary steps to strip them of their nationality".

The interior and foreign ministries had appealed against the decision, saying the matter should be put before parliament rather than decided by the courts.

"The case has highlighted the divide between the official Egyptian stance on peace with Israel versus the real sentiment on the street of the Arab world's most populous nation," Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh reported from Cairo, the Egyptian capital.

Palestine factor

Egypt signed a peace deal with Israel in 1979, making it the first Arab country to do so.

Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, the late grand sheikh of Cairo's Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's premier institution and oldest university, had said that while marriage between an Egyptian man and an Israeli woman was not religiously forbidden, the government had the right to strip the man of his citizenship for marrying a woman from "an enemy state".

While there is not formal data on the number of Egyptians married to Israelis, some Egyptian deputies estimate the number to be 15,000.

Several thousand Egyptians who lived in Iraq moved to Israel in search of work after the 1990 Gulf War and married Israeli women.

Zerozx

June 5th, 2010, 05:30 PM

Egypt to strip men married to Israelis of citizenship - http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j2k-U2sFxfTrG7vNTTRisQ3ksPvA

CAIRO — A Cairo court on Saturday upheld a ruling to strip Egyptian men married to Israeli women of their citizenship in a case that has highlighted national sentiment towards Israel.

Judge Mohammed al-Husseini, sitting on the Supreme Administrative Court, said the interior ministry must ask the cabinet to take the necessary steps to strip Egyptian men married to Israeli women, and their children, of their citizenship.

The court said that each case should be considered separately, in a ruling that cannot be appealed.

The ruling reflects Egyptian sentiment towards Israel, more than 30 years after Egypt signed an unpopular peace deal with the Jewish state.

Before reading the verdict, Husseini said the case would not apply to Egyptian men married to Arab Israeli women.

"The case for (Egyptian) men married to Israeli Arab women is different to those married to Israeli women of Jewish origin because (Israeli Arabs) have lived under Israeli occupation," Husseini told the court.

"The court's decision is taking into account Egypt's national security," the judge said.

Lawyer Nabil al-Wahsh said he originally brought the case to court in order to prevent the creation of a generation "disloyal to Egypt and the Arab world."

Children of such marriages "should not be allowed to perform their military service," he said.

The number of Egyptian men married to Israeli women is thought to be around 30,000, according to Wahsh. Only 10 percent of them are married to Arab Israelis.

"This ruling is for the benefit of Egypt, a nation of leadership, history and civilisation," Wahsh said. "It is for the protection of Egypt and Egypt's youth and its national security."

"The decision comes as Israel continues its assault on those who love peace. The latest example is the aggression against the aid boat which was heading towards the blockaded Gaza Strip," he added.

On Monday, Israeli naval commandos raided a humanitarian flotilla carrying aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip, in a bungled operation that left nine pro-Palestinian activists dead and scores injured.

A lower court ruled last year that the interior minister must look into the cases of Egyptian men married to Israeli women, and their children, in order to "take the necessary steps to strip them of their nationality."

The interior and foreign ministries had appealed the case, saying it was for parliament to decide on such matters.

Thousands of Egyptians, particularly a large number who lived in Iraq and returned after the 1990 Gulf War over Kuwait, moved to Israel in search of work and married Israeli women.

In 1979, Egypt became the first Arab country to sign a peace deal with Israel.

steph1962

June 5th, 2010, 10:18 PM

Egypt may revoke citizenship of residents wed to Israelis

06/05/2010 20:10

A court in Egypt today instructed the Egyptian government to consider revoking the citizenship of residents married to Israelis.

The court stated that such relationships should be viewed as potential threats to Egyptian national security.